Trust: The Magician's Nephew

Chapter 6

The Lion, whose eyes never blinked, stared at the animals as hard as if he was going to burn them up with his mere stare. And gradually a change came over them.

The smaller ones — the rabbits, moles and such-like grew a good deal larger. The very big ones — you noticed it most with the elephants — grew a little smaller.

Many animals sat up on their hind legs. Most put their heads on one side as if they were trying very hard to understand.

The Lion opened his mouth, but no sound came from it, he was breathing out, a long, warm breath. His breath seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees.

Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music.

Then there came a swift flash like fire either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children's bodies, and the deepest, wildest voice they had ever heard was saying: "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters."

It was of course the Lion's voice. The children had long felt sure that he could speak, yet it was a lovely and terrible shock when he did.

Out of the trees wild people stepped forth, gods and goddesses of the wood; with them came Fauns and Satyrs and Dwarfs.

Out of the river rose the river god with his Naiad daughters.

All of these creatures and all the beasts and birds in their different voices, low or high or thick or clear, replied: "Hail, Aslan. We hear and obey. We are awake. We love. We think. We speak. We know."

"But please, we don't know very much yet," said a nosey and snorty kind of voice. And that really did make the children jump, for it was the cab-horse who had spoken.

"Good old Strawberry," Polly said. "I am glad he was one of the ones picked out to be a Talking Beast."

Then the Cabby, who was now standing beside the children, said, "Strike me pink. I always did say that 'oss 'ad a lot of sense, though."

"Creatures, I give you yourselves," said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. "I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The Dumb Beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them but do not go back to their ways lest you cease to be Talking Beasts. For out of them you were taken and into them you can return. Do not so."

"No, Aslan, we won't, we won't," said everyone.

"No fear!" added a perky jackdaw in a loud voice.

Everyone else had finished just before he said it so that his words came out quite clear in a dead silence. The Jackdaw became so embarrassed that it hid its head under its wings as if it was going to sleep. And all the other animals began making various queer noises which are their ways of laughing and which, of course, no one has ever heard in our world.

They tried at first to repress it, but Aslan said: "Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech."

Then all the strange sounds of the animals laughing came upon the children. There was such happiness amongst the animals that the Jackdaw himself plucked up courage again and perched on the cab-horse's head, between its ears, clapping its wings, and said: "Aslan! Aslan! Have I made the first joke? Will everybody always be told how I made the first joke?"

"No, little friend," the Lion said. "You have not made the first joke; you have only been the first joke."

Then everyone laughed more than ever, but the Jackdaw didn't mind and laughed just as loud till the horse shook its head and the Jackdaw lost its balance and fell off, but remembered its wings before it reached the ground.